Sawt Falasteen - Commerce minister to pay rare senior Chinese visit to US

Minister Wang Wentao will meet Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Washington, said Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington.

Trade, once core to the US-China relationship, has increasingly been a point of friction, with President Joe Biden restricting sales of advanced microchips to Beijing, a step followed by key US allies.

Liu said US-China trade relations have been set back by "unilateral, protectionist measures by the United States."

"China, as always, stands for openness and cooperation, and will continue to present opportunities for international companies, including US companies, through its own development," he told reporters.

It marks the latest Chinese effort to emphasize positive momentum with Western powers.

Last week, Wang met in Beijing with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell with an aim of turning the page on years of harsh Chinese sanctions and restrictions aimed at pressuring Canberra.

The United States has identified China as its top long-term competitor and hopes the chip ban will limit Beijing both militarily and economically, curbing the communist nation's ability to shape global standards in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies.

Biden held a cordial meeting with President Xi Jinping, who had stayed in China during the Covid crisis, in November in Bali. But tensions soon soared again after the United States spotted what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon over US soil.

The episode led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a visit to Beijing due in February.

In a bid to maintain communication, Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor, met last week in Vienna with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi.

The White House said they discussed sensitive topics including Taiwan, the self-governing democracy which China claims and has not ruled out seizing by force.

N.Awad--SF-PST